Eggplant Stew... it's what's for dinner.

I know it's been a while, but, I decided it's time to try blogging again.

Summer is pretty much done here in S. Texas. The temperatures are no longer in the 100's and it's finally started to rain again. It's nature's way of letting us know that fall is clearly on the way.

Rainy weather means comfort food, for my husband that means soup. For the "lone vegetarian" in the house (that would be me), it's Eggplant Stew. I had honestly never had eggplant until last year when mom and I (ok.. mostly mom) started growing it in a local community garden. She tried several varieties, including a long Japanese eggplant and a gorgeous heirloom variety called Black Beauty. Black Beauty just loved it's garden spot. It's a very productive variety with a longer season than most. We picked the last eggplants in early December. It's also not as bitter as others. We had more eggplant than we knew what to do with, and Eggplant Parm got old quick. On a quest for something different this shiksa found a wonderful Kosher/Vegetarian food blog called Cafe Liz and her recipe for Eggplant Tomato Stew. Never being one to follow directions or an actual recipe... I had to put my own spin on it. 

I love this recipe because the ingredients are easily accessible and won't break the bank. It also freezes really well. Trust me, that's a good thing because I usually cook like I'm feeding an army. This was a bad summer in the garden and I had to actually buy an eggplant. I was surprised at how relatively inexpensive they are (under $3 for a large eggplant). 

For about 6-8 servings (depending on how hungry you are), you'll need....

1 medium eggplant

1 medium yellow onion

3 medium carrots

1 stalk of celery (include the leafy bits.. no need to waste them)

1 small sweet potato

2 medium Yukon Gold potatoes (russets tent to get mushy)

1/2 a red bell pepper

1/2 small can of tomato paste or 1 can of your favorite condensed tomato soup

2 cloves of garlic (crushed) or 1 heaping teaspoon of garlic powder

1 Tbsp of Paprika

2 Tbsp of Olive Oil 

2c of water

2 vegetable bouillon cubes

the juice of 1/2 a lemon plus 1c of water

(I also added 1/2c of seeded and deveined Poblano Pepper.. 'cause a Mexican chica needs her spice.)

Dice all the veggies, keeping the eggplant in a separate container. I cut the eggplant a little chunkier than the rest of the veg and soaked the eggplant in the lemon juice and water to keep it from oxidizing (but that is not really necessary). 

Preheat the oil and add the carrots, potato, onion, celery, sweet potato, and red bell pepper. Cook them in the oil until the onions have become translucent. At this point add the water, garlic powder, paprika, tomato, and two bouillon cubes. Simmer just long enough to dissolve the bouillon cubes and add the diced eggplant. Continue to simmer until the eggplant softens up and the carrots are fork tender, then salt and pepper to taste and serve over white rice.

**If you have a passionate dislike for eggplant (I really hope you don't because this is reeeeally good)... feel free to substitute it with zucchini, butternut or acorn squash. Just remember the cook time is longer for butternut and acorn squash.